Modelling Microlensing Events Workshop

Fitting anomalous microlensing events - approaches and time constraints

• The day-by-day program of the workshop will be announced at a later date.
• Registration Deadline: Oct 5 2008

We urge you to register as soon as possible to facilitate organization of the meeting. To register, please email Yiannis Tsapras (ytsapras) or Rachel Street (rstreet) by adding these usernames to the email address @lcogtLas Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network.net.

• List of confirmed participants
• Travel & Accomodation Info
• Topics to cover
  

Dear microlensers,
This is the first announcement of the LCOGT microlensing workshop on programming practices for fitting anomalous microlensing events.

The microlensing method has come of age in the last few years with several confirmed detections of planets but modelling the most intriguing events is still a very time consuming process that requires significant human and computing resources. As a result, the majority of binary events each season go unmodelled. With existing facilities being upgraded and new ones being commissioned, as well as more powerful campaigns in the planning, the gap between data acquisition and analysis is only going to increase.

At this meeting, we would like to review the state of the art of all modules that are required for turning a microlensing data set into a probabilistic assessment of the nature of the underlying physical system, figure out what parts are missing and discuss ways of closing the gap between where we stand now and what we would like to achieve.

The workshop will last for 4 days and comprise a series of informal presentations focused on key topics in microlensing modelling, from the different methods used to approach the lensing equations, multi-site data rescaling, parameter space search efficiency and how to deal with multiple solutions. These presentations will be given by leading experts in the field and attendees will have the chance to see demonstrations of the various codes in operation. There will be ample time left for questions and open discussions.

If you would like to contribute a presentation at this workshop please contact ytsapras(at)lcogt.net and send the title and a brief description. Given the time constraints, we cannot guarantee that it will be included in the final programme but all submissions will be considered.

Unfortunately we have no funds to pay for travel or accommodation. Due to the informal nature of this workshop, no registration fee is necessary. Unless you wish to make your own bookings, LCOGT will handle accommodation arrangements once the list of participants is finalized.

Information on travel and accomodation in our area is available here.

If you cannot make it to Santa Barbara on those dates, there is also the option to participate via videocon. Please contact rstreet(at)lcogt.net for more information.